This type of electronic tag is well-known and may be used for various identification purposes. The electronic tag may be based on Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, in which radio waves are used to automatically identify electronic tags attached to objects. Such RFID tags are read by dedicated RFID readers. The RFID reader sends an interrogating signal to the tag, and the tag responds with its unique information. RFID tags may be passive, i.e. non-powered, and collect energy from the interrogating signal of the RFID reader.
A specialized subset within the family of RFID technology is denoted Near-field communication (NFC). Specifically, NFC is a branch of High-Frequency (HF) RFID. NFC is designed to be a secure form of data exchange, and an NFC device is capable of being both an NFC reader and an NFC tag.
It is a general desire to provide electronic tags that are capable of being read by a variety of different electronic devices, including existing and future communication devices such as mobile terminals, smartphones, tablets, wearables, etc. These devices may not include a specialized RFID or NFC reader. One technology that has penetrated into many different types of electronic devices, and is expected to penetrate further by the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT), is Bluetooth® which is a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances, as well as its low-power variant Bluetooth low energy (BLE).
There are commercially available electronic devices that are based on a communication protocol denoted iBeacon and developed by Apple, Inc. These electronic devices, also known as beacons, use a Bluetooth transmitter to broadcast a universally unique identifier for interception by nearby portable electronic devices. The iBeacon technology enables the portable electronic device to perform actions when in close proximity to a beacon, e.g. to display tailored advertising. The beacon receives power from a power source, which may be a small built-in battery. To ensure low power consumption, and thus a long battery life, the Bluetooth transmitter is typically a BLE transmitter.